No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger Preview-Chicago

September 12, 2012

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes• This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-832 during Sunday’s Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. This is a new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After 26 points-paying events and the completion of the regular season, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are tied for second in the 2012 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup driver and owner point standings. Winners of three races this season, the team is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway last Saturday night. • Chasing a Championship... For the second-consecutive season, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge will compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The team finished fifth in the championship last season, but heads into this season’s playoffs as one of the favorites to claim the title. • Midwest Homecoming… Keselowski always enjoys running well when the series visits the Midwestern part of the country. A native of Rochester Hills, Mich., Keselowski – along with his father, uncle and brother – has won numerous short track races throughout the mid-section of the United States over the years.• Home Field Advantage … Keselowski, one of the most determined racers in the Cup Series, will have extra incentive to perform well this weekend at Chicago. MillerCoors, the long-time sponsor of the “Blue Deuce” is headquartered in downtown Chicago. Keselowski would like nothing more than to deliver the company its first victory at its “home” track this weekend.• Career-Best Top-Five Mark… In addition to his three wins, Keselowski is tied for third with 10 top-five finishes in 2012. This represents a career-best mark for the young driver. • It’s Miller Time… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend at Chicagoland is “It’s Miller Time.” One of the most recognized marketing slogans in recent memory, “It’s Miller Time” can be found within many popular culture references. MillerCoors decided to bring back the slogan earlier this year.• The Rest is History... In 25 combined Cup Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway, Penske Racing has accumulated one win (Ryan Newman – 2003), one pole and three top-five finishes. In addition, Team Penske has garnered two wins, five poles and 10 top-five finishes in 19 combined IZOD IndyCar Series starts at the venue.

Brad Keselowski on his chances to win a championship this season“You know, last year we made the Chase and it was a really good feeling just to be included in those 12 cars and teams. While we gave it everything we had to win it, it was more of a learning experience for us. This year we are going in really high in the points. We have the experience from last year and we are more prepared for the pressure that comes with being in the Chase. It’s just a different feeling around the team. If you look at our last 10 weeks, we’ve been as good as any team. We’d like to have a few more wins, but we’ve been amazingly consistent. If we can put together another 10-week stretch like that, I see us going down to Homestead as one of the contenders.”

Brad Keselowski on racing at Chicagoland Speedway“Chicagoland Speedway provides us with an excellent venue to start the Chase for the Championship. It has become a very racy place over the years. There is a lot of back and forth, side-by-side racing and the track has actually become fairly rough over the years. The Midwestern winters have taken their toll on the surface and have made it a little trickier. There is a lot of banking to go with that, so it’s very fast. All in all, it’s a great racetrack and I really enjoy it. Hopefully we can get a win for MillerCoors in their own backyard.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on this year’s Chase for the Championship“Last year was a great learning experience for everyone on the Miller Lite Dodge team. We’ve had very little turnover from a year ago, so everyone here knows what to expect when we get to Chicago. You have to be laser-focused with no mistakes for 10 races. If we can do that, I think we can give Mr. Penske and Miller Lite their first Cup championship. It’s going to be important to get off to a good start. We’ve been decent on the mile-and-a-half tracks this year and we were able to get a top five at Chicago last year. The car we’re bringing is brand new and I’m excited about its potential. We’re going to roll out the best Dodges that we have so that we can send them off on a high note as well.”